They Don’t Consent to Bombs: Iran, Liberation, and the Lie of American Righteousness

Photo by Craig Melville on Unsplash

The regime in Iran is cruel. It oppresses women. It criminalizes queerness. It disappears dissenters and silences lives. But this is not an article about that, because we all know it. What’s harder to say out loud is this: it is not our job to liberate the people of Iran. And it is certainly not our right to do it with bombs.

The rhetoric is all too familiar. The United States and Israel say Iran is weeks away from a nuclear bomb, the same urgent, fabricated timeline they used to justify the invasion of Iraq. That lie cost over a million lives. And now, with Donald Trump back in office and Benjamin Netanyahu at his most belligerent, the world is being pulled toward yet another catastrophic mistake.

But this time, let’s be clear: No people can be liberated by bombs they never consented to. The Iranian people, like any of us, deserve the dignity of choosing their own future, not having one imposed through war masked as mercy.

You may have seen the headlines about queer people imprisoned or killed. Women forced into silence. Dissidents in exile. And yes these are horrific realities. But the lives being lived in Iran are not passive. They are not waiting for American heroism. They are lives of agency, even within suffering. Women have led resistance movements. Students have taken to the streets. Underground queer communities gather in whispers and hope. People organize, resist, endure, in their own time, in their own way. Because liberation that is not chosen is not liberation. It’s colonization with a moral coating.

What’s most insulting is the idea that because these people suffer, they must want us (the West) to come save them. They are not props in our moral performance. They are not looking to swap one authoritarian boot for another. Many of them are simply trying to survive. To make it to tomorrow. To protect their children. To dream in silence, rather than die in rubble.

They don’t want American bombs. They want safety. And safety cannot be dropped from a drone at 30,000 feet.

We all know how this story plays out. It starts with think pieces about human rights and ends with orphaned children, lost lives, and a generation of trauma. Then, the West shrugs. Mission accomplished. Freedom delivered at the cost of everyone else's future.

Would it be the world’s job to “liberate” Americans from Donald Trump? Of course not. Many Americans hate him. Many fear him. But most are just trying to pay rent. You don’t see millions risking their lives to overthrow the government and nobody expects them to. That is their right. Their choice. Their burden. Why should it be any different for Iran?

Why do we accept that Iranians must be martyrs for our idea of freedom?

There are queer Iranians. There are feminist Iranians. There are children who want to be singers and doctors and football players. There are mothers who want to bake bread in peace. And yes, there are women who fight for more and they are leading the resistance, not begging for American missiles to do it for them.

This isn't a denial of Iran's brutality. It's a defense of the people who live under it. It's a reminder that human beings are not pawns in geopolitical chess games even when those games are played under the banner of justice.

So let’s stop pretending this is about liberation. It’s about power. It’s about control. It’s about the same lie, told again, with better PR.

The people of Iran deserve freedom but on their terms. Not at gunpoint. And certainly not under the moral banner of a country that would never accept the same treatment for itself.

If we truly care about Iranians, we’ll stop pretending we can liberate them. And we’ll start listening to what they actually need: a chance to live, not die for our delusions.